Maybe it is just my little blond brain, but National Banana Bread Day (February 23)  totally snuck up on me this year. Did that happen to you, too? All I have is one lonely overripe banana sitting in my fruit bowl. I can’t even make a proper banana bread to celebrate.  Bummer.

Infinitely more irritating, I missed National Margarita Day (February 22) .

And, don’t even get me started on the fact that I missed National Potato Lover’s Day ( February 8th). No respectable McGee (April 18) can be forgiven for that gaffe.

So who designates national food days, anyway?

As with most things in our system, the legwork is done by lobbyists. (That said, I’m surprised we don’t celebrate “Hug a Lobbyist Day.” If I may make a suggestion, April 1 would be a good day to celebrate the ways lobbyists enrich our lives.)

The President and the Congress have a role in making national food days happen, too. There are two routes to National “Fooddom:” Congress passes a joint resolution and the President signs it or the President simply proclaims a food day. Given the current ugliness on our political scene, one has to wonder whether partisan outrage sometimes spills over when the President decides to go rogue and use Executive Privilege to designate a food day.

After all, in today’s divided America,  the red/blue divide reaches into the innermost reaches of our lives. Surely, a case can be made that there are “red” and “blue” foods. If you are having trouble believing that we could have politicized food, I would ask you to remember when some conservatives made fun of President Obama for his preference for Grey Poupon mustard over basic all-American yellow mustard on his burger.  Talk radio’s Laura Ingraham said of the President’s mustard choice: “What kind of man orders a cheeseburger without ketchup but (with) Dijon mustard?” Whoa! Maybe it’s just me, but conflating the choice of mustard (National Mustard day, first Saturday in August) with the measure of one’s manhood seems a wee bit extreme.

Here is a list of designated food days for February.

You will note that someone with a demented sense of humor slipped in National Frog Legs Day on this year’s leap-year calendar (February 29). Where was Kermit’s lobbyist on that one?

February 1
National Cake Pops Day
National Baked Alaska Day
National Dark Chocolate Day
February 2
National Tater Tot Day
February 3
National Carrot Cake Day
February 4
National Homemade Soup Day
National Stuffed Mushroom Day
February 5
World Nutella Day
National Frozen Yogurt Day
February 6
National Chopstix Day
February 7
National Fettuccine Alfredo Day
February 8
National Molasses Bar Day
National Potato Lover’s Day
February 9
National Bagels and Lox Day
February 10
National Cream Cheese Brownie Day
National “Have a Brownie” Day
February 11
National Peppermint Patty Day
February 12
National Plum Pudding Day
National PB&J Day
February 13
National Tortellini Day
National “Italian Food” Day
February 14
National Cream-Filled Chocolates Day
February 15
National Gumdrop Day
National Chewing Gum Day
February 16
National Almond Day
February 17
National Indian Pudding Day
National Cafe’ Au Lait Day
February 18
National “Drink Wine” Day
February 19
National Chocolate Mint Day
February 20
National Muffin Day
(Originally, National Margarita Day, worry not, it’s now Feb 22nd)
February 21
National Sticky Bun Day
National Biscuits and Gravy Day
February 22
National Cook a Sweet Potato Day
National Margarita Day
National Cherry Pie Day
February 23
National Banana Bread Day
February 24
National Tortilla Chip Day
February 25
National Chocolate-Covered Peanuts Day
National Clam Chowder Day
February 26
National Pistachio Day
February 27
National Chili Day
National Strawberry Day
National Kahlua Day
February 28
National Chocolate Souffle Day
February 29
National Frog Legs Day

Pucker up.

Damn. I should have used that line with one of my Valentine’s Day posts.

It is Meyer lemon season here.

I love the special lower-acid taste of Meyer lemons. Ever the foodie, I used to eat them fresh off the tree with a dusting of salt when I was a girl.  Probably wasn’t the best thing for the enamel on my teeth, I know.

Thin-skinned Meyer lemons, introduced to the California market in the early 20th century, are thought to have originally been a cross between a lemon and either a Mandarin or an orange. Whatever. It was a marriage made in heaven in my book.

About my photograph… I’ve been waiting for an opportunity to photograph something on one of my Lynn Chase “Jaguar Jungle” plates. This beautiful lemon tart seemed to be the right dish to showcase the pattern. I only have a few pieces of this pattern but I love them dearly. I don’t know if “Jaguar Jungle” is still available new, but you can buy pieces at Replacements, Ltd.

Replacements, Ltd., by the way,  is a wonderful online resource. You can buy miscellaneous pieces of many patterns of china, crystal and silver on their site.  I inherited an incomplete set of china manufactured in post-WWII “occupied” Japan. To my amazement (and delight), I was able to complete the set through Replacements, Ltd. Here is a link to their site:

Replacements Ltd.

Here is my adaptation of a spectacular lemon tart recipe. The original recipe appeared on a site called Love and Olive Oil. You will find a link to that recipe at the bottom of this post.

Recipe: Meyer Lemon Tart with Macadamia Nut Crust

Crust:
1/2 C. macadamia nuts
1 C. flour
1/3 C. powdered sugar
1/2 C. (1 stick) unsalted butter (cut into cubes)
1 T. ice water

Tart Filling
7 large egg yolks
2 large eggs
1 C. sugar
1/2 C. grated fresh Meyer lemon zest
2/3 C. Meyer lemon juice
Pinch of salt
4 T. (1/2 stick) unsalted butter (cut into pieces)
3 T. heavy cream

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Prepare the crust. Using your food processor, finely grind macadamia nuts. Be careful not to over process or you will get macadamia nut butter. Add flour and powdered sugar to ground macadamia nuts and blend until well mixed. Add cubes of butter and pulse briefly until the butter and flour mixture is mixed. Add ice water through the processor chute and pulse a couple of times until the flour/butter mixture is crumbly. Your mixture will not form a ball but will hold together when you press it together with your fingers. Don’t worry. You simply pour this crumbly mixture into your tart pan and press the “dough” onto the bottom and up the sides of the pan. Cook in 375 degree F oven for 15 minutes or until edges of the crust are slightly browned. Remove from oven and let crust cool briefly on a wire rack.

Prepare the filling. Put egg yolks and 2 whole eggs into a medium-sized sauce pan but don’t put your pan on the heat until you add the butter pieces–a couple of steps from now. Use a whisk to whisk the eggs until they are well mixed and a light golden color. Gradually, whisk in the sugar until it is well incorporated into the egg mixture. Add the lemon zest and mix. Add lemon juice and mix. Add a pinch of salt and mix. Add the butter pieces and stir over medium-low heat until butter melts and is incorporated into egg mixture. Be sure to stir this mixture constantly so that you don’t end up with scrambled eggs. Use a thermometer as this mixture heats up. It should have begun to thicken when you reach 170 degrees F. (This will take about 5 minutes.) Watch your filling batter carefully so as not to overcook (or, overthicken). Moving quickly, remove your filling from the heat and pour it through a wire sieve into a heat-proof glass bowl. If your filling is thick, use a wooden spoon to press the filling through the sieve. When you’ve strained the filling, add the heavy cream.

Pour the lemon filling into your crust. Use a spatula to spread the filling evenly into the crust. Put your filled tart pan on a baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes or until filling is glossy and opaque. Remove your tart from the oven and cool on a wire rack for about an hour and a half.

Garnish with powdered sugar and berries. Serve at room temperature.

Here is the link to the original recipe on the Love and Olive Oil site:

Meyer Lemon Macadamia Nut Tart

I’m a sucker for a clever recipe name and the name for this dense chocolate cake is clever indeed. This great little cake could easily become a staple in your cooking repertoire.

If you are a chocolate lover this would be a great Valentine’s Day dessert. After all, to quote Charles Schulz:

“All you need is love. But, a little chocolate now and then doesn’t hurt.”

I adapted this recipe from one posted on an Australian site,  delicious. . The link to that recipe appears at the end of this post. You will note that the ingredient quantities are listed in metric measurements. I got out my trusty scale and the cake came together quickly.

The recipe calls for a tablespoon of rum or brandy. You could leave that out but that would be no fun. To be perfectly honest, I couldn’t really taste the brandy flavor in my cake, so I poured myself a generous glass of brandy to accompany the cake. Worked for me.

I served my cake with fresh raspberries but I think a scoop of French vanilla ice cream would be a spectacular accompaniment, too. I sprinkled ground walnuts over my cake.

Recipe:

The Cake

250 grams dark chocolate (chopped)
65 grams unsalted butter (chopped)
3 eggs (separated)
45 grams ultra-fine sugar (caster sugar)
75 ml heavy cream
1 T. dark rum or brandy
1/2 t. vanilla extract
1/4 t. cream of tartar

The Ganache 

225 g. dark chocolate (chopped)
88 g. unsalted butter (chopped)
300 ml heavy cream
1/8 C. corn syrup

Directions:

Heat oven to 400 degrees F.

Prepare a 12-inch springform pan by greasing it and covering the bottom with a layer of parchment paper.

Using a double boiler or a bowl set over a pan of simmering water, melt the chocolate and the butter. Stir to combine. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool.

Combine egg yolks and sugar in a bowl and beat with an electric mixer until the mixture thickens and takes on a pale color. Add cream, brandy (or rum), vanilla and cooled chocolate to mixture.

Put egg whites and cream of tartar into a clean and dry bowl and beat until soft peaks form. Gently fold the beaten egg whites into the chocolate mixture using a metal spoon. It is better to mix the beaten whites in gradually in three or four additions. You want to fold the egg whites in gradually and carefully to keep as much air in the mixture as possible to keep your cake light.

Transfer your batter into your springform pan. Use a spatula to spread the batter evenly in the pan.  Bake for 25 minutes. When the cake is done, you should be able to insert a toothpick into the center of the cake and have it come out clean. Cool your cake (in the pan) on a wire rack.

To make the ganache, melt chocolate and butter in a double boiler (or a bowl set over simmering water). Stir the melting mixture until the chocolate and butter are smooth and incorporated. Remove the melted mixture from the heat and set aside while you heat the cream and corn syrup in a separate pan. You want the cream and syrup to heat thoroughly, just to the point before it would boil.

Pour the cream and syrup mixture into your pan of chocolate and stir it to mix. Put this mixture into the refrigerator for 30 minutes (or until it thickens).

Remove the sides of the springform pan from the cake. Frost and enjoy. I sprinkled some finely-ground walnuts on the top of my cake.

Cook’s Notes:  I made my superfine sugar by blitzing granulated sugar in my Vitamix blender. You can find superfine sugar in the market, however. I used Trader Joe’s dark chocolate in my recipe. My ganache was fairly warm when I put it into the refrigerator. It took longer for it to thicken.

Here is the link to the original recipe:

http://www.delicious.com.au/recipes/little-black-dress-chocolate-cake/62e403f0-623e-43d4-817f-acfc951b61bf?current_section=recipes